Super Bowl 51: More Than a Championship at Stake
By Matt Karoly
The Atlanta Falcons can win their first championship on Sunday. For Dan Quinn and Matt Ryan, winning the Super Bowl is about much more than wearing a ring.
The Atlanta Falcons are now a week away from playing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Dan Quinn may not like to admit it, but Sunday’s game will define how people view the Falcons coaches and players moving forward.
A Super Bowl title represents more than just a team reaching the pinnacle of professional football. It is also an individual achievement etched forever in one’s personal legacy.
For the New England Patriots, they have a chance to capture their fifth championship, placing them in a three-way tie for second. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will have had a hand in all five, further cementing their claim as the best QB-coach combo in NFL history.
Speaking of good combos, Matt Ryan and Dan Quinn have made quite the pair in two years’ time. Quinn has reinvigorated the Falcons’ veteran signal caller and given him a chance to rewrite the book on his career.
During the Mike Smith era, Matt Ryan developed a reputation for being a “big-game choke artist”; this despite his relatively clean regular season resume. DQ preached playing with a championship game mentality at all times and Ryan took that to heart from the outset.
The fruits of that labor were on display the last two weeks. Matt Ryan led the Atlanta Falcons through the NFC playoffs like it was Weeks 14 and 15 all over again. With one more win, Ryan will become the eighth active quarterback with a Super Bowl ring.
Couple that with the presumptive league MVP award and “Matty Ice” enters elite company. Only the aforementioned Brady and Aaron Rodgers boast NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion honors.
But Ryan isn’t the only one that stands to gain from a Super Bowl victory. Dan Quinn has a chance to add to his already stellar playoff history.
Already 2-0 in his postseason career as head coach, some forget that Quinn was the defensive coordinator both times the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl. In fact, the Falcons’ general now has appeared on the sidelines in three of the last four Super Bowls.
A win against the Patriots will certainly vault him to the top of the conversation for best NFL head coach. One thing’s for sure. He would undoubtedly become the greatest Falcons coach on the spot if he delivers Atlanta its first football championship.
As for the rest of the young Falcons, a Super Bowl triumph will do wonders for their confidence going forward. With this roster seemingly under contract for the next several years, Atlanta may be on the verge of a dynasty.
Next: Top 10 Plays That Led Falcons to Super Bowl 51
It’s only fitting the Falcons have to go through the incumbent dynasty to accomplish that goal.